Honoring Dr. Roberta Barnes Carey ’71

The William Smith Alumnae Association presented the Alumna Achievement Award to Dr. Roberta Barnes Carey ’71, director, Laboratory Quality Management Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on Thursday, April 4. The Alumna Achievement Award is the William Smith College Alumnae Association’s highest honor, and is awarded to an alumna who, by reason of outstanding accomplishments in her particular business, profession or community service, has brought honor and distinction to her alma mater.

In her role as director of the Laboratory Quality Management Program and interim director of Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) at the CDC, Dr. Carey is responsible for oversight of the quality management system for the CDC infectious disease laboratories.

Dr. Carey joined the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at the CDC as chief of the Clinical and Environmental Microbiology Branch in 2004, with responsibility for the reference laboratory, overseeing identification and characterization of staphylococci and the anaerobic bacteria, detection of antimicrobial resistance and the investigation of healthcare associated infections. In that capacity, she served as acting director for the Division of Laboratory Systems, which provides technical and scientific oversight for the CLIA regulations that set the federal quality standards for the nation’s clinical laboratories.

After graduating from William Smith College with a cum laude degree in biology, Carey received a Ph.D. in microbiology from Cornell University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, N.Y., and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in clinical and public health microbiology at Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa. She has been a diplomat of the American Board of Medical Microbiology in Public Health and Medical Microbiology since 1985.

“Dr. Carey has brought honor to her alma mater throughout her life’s work and has truly fulfilled the Colleges’ mission by living a “life of consequence,” says Kristin Ohms-McNamara ’77, chair of the Alumna Achievement Award committee. “Dr. Carey has made a difference in the world, shown an unbelievable work ethic and has ultimately, honored William Smith College with what she has accomplished.”

The Alumna Achievement Award ceremony began with a welcome reception in the Blackwell Room, followed by dinner and presentation of the award. Dr. Carey then gave a Salisbury Center for Career Services’ Professional in Residence Lecture in the Seneca Room.